Make Paper Cherry Blossom Flowers for Spring

When I lived in Japan in the late ’80s, I was invited to a hanami 花見 party (a picnic under the cherry blossoms). The party was full of mystery and the heady scent of spring. It’s a treasured memory of mine. And it’s time once again for the cherry blossoms, which are due to blossom any day now in Kyoto, the city I lived). So let’s celebrate with some pretty paper cherry blossom flowers!

Cherry blossoms in Japan are called sakura (さくら) and they are a metaphor for the ephemeral nature of life, probably because they come and go so quickly. The wonderful thing about paper cherry blossom flowers is they’ll last SO very much longer and you can enjoy them year-round. Paper flowers are fun to make and look amazing as decor for your home or a party.

The park I picnicked under the cherry blossoms is called the Maruyama Park, and it’s famous for its cherry blossoms. Here are some of those gorgeous cherry blossoms at the park:

I’ve tried to capture all the pretty pale pinks and bright spring greens in these paper versions of the cherry blossom. I’m really pleased with the results. And the best thing is that they’re easy to make!

By the way, you could easily use white paper and call these apple blossom flowers, if you prefer! (If you like apple blossoms, be sure to check out my pop-up apple tree card.)

I can’t wait to show you how to make paper cherry blossom flowers! Let’s dive in! This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Read my full disclosure policy.

The free cut files/patterns (they are in my resource library — to get the password to it, fill out the form at the bottom of this post)

How to Make Paper Cherry Blossom Flowers

First, cut out your cardstock, tissue paper, or crepe paper using the free SVG, DXF, or PDF files in my resource library. Feel free to resize the cherry blossom to meet your needs, but note there are two different sizes of petals and you should try to keep their size the same relative to one another. Also note that there are two different centers—one is more detailed and complicated, and works better for larger cherry blossoms.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you’re not sure how to upload an SVG file to Cricut Design Space, or you’re having issues (such as getting a message that says “unsupported file”), please watch my free training series, The Joy of SVGs. It will help you SO much!

Shape the petals gently with your fingers, pressing them up slightly and/or folding/cupping the petals, to give the petals more depth.

To make your paper cherry blossom flowers as I did, glue the larger petal under the smaller petal. You can line them up or rotate them so the petals show better. Some cherry blossoms have just five petals, though, so feel free to not stack them if you prefer.

Shape a center stamen piece (star shape) so the stamens stick up a bit. Now glue the sepal to the middle of the top of your petal.

Glue a leaf or two underneath the paper cherry blossom flower.

Here’s a finished paper cherry blossom made with shimmer cardstock.

And here’s a finished cherry blossom flower made with extra fine crepe paper.

Aren’t they lovely?

And that’s it—your paper cherry blossom flower is complete. You can use these paper flowers to decorate a card or even put them on a real branch, just the way real cherry blossoms grow. Here is a branch with some of my paper cherry blossoms. I’ll be keeping this pretty branch out on display all spring.

I actually made these paper cherry blossoms for another purpose—to decorate some paper Japanese lanterns I made. If you’d like to make these gorgeous lanterns, head on over to the tutorial to get the free patterns!

Free Cut Files for the Paper Cherry Blossom Flowers

You can get the password to my resource library that has ALL of my free cut files in it by filling out this form:

If you make these paper cherry blossom flowers, I’d really love to see them! You can email your photos to [email protected] or post them in our Facebook group and I will include them on this page for the world to see!

Love,

More Paper Flower Tutorials & SVG Cut Files

About Jennifer

Jennifer Marx is a designer, an enthusiastic crafter, a lifelong teacher, and a proud overcomer of a variety of life's challenges. In her spare time she loves to play D&D and video games, garden, sew 16th c. costumes, and go to Disney. She lives a full, happy life in beautiful Ann Arbor, Michigan with her partner Greg, her teen daughter Alexa, and their two dogs, Hunter and Chloe.

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